Abogen Biosciences Launches Global First Phase III Trial for Lyophilized mRNA-based Herpes Zoster Vaccine ABO1108

▎Armstrong

On June 15, 2026, Abogen Biosciences registered the Phase III clinical trial of its lyophilized herpes zoster mRNA vaccine, ABO1108, on the Drug Clinical Trial Registration and Information Publicity Platform. This marks the first herpes zoster mRNA vaccine globally to enter Phase III clinical trials.

Abogen, established in 2019, is one of the earliest mRNA biotechnology companies founded in China. To date, it has built multiple R&D pipelines covering infectious diseases and oncology.

The inclusion criteria for the Phase III clinical trial of this lyophilized mRNA vaccine for herpes zoster are healthy individuals aged 40 years and older.

The administration schedule for ABO1008 is similar to that of the recombinant zoster vaccine, consisting of two doses administered 60 days apart.

This Phase III clinical trial was led by Director Huang Teng of the Guangxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and conducted at the CDCs in four provinces: Guangxi, Zhejiang, Hebei, and Shandong.

The Phase III clinical trial plans to enroll 18,000 subjects.

Summary

In China, recombinant herpes zoster vaccines from LUZHU BIOTECH, MicuBio, Yidao Biologics, and Ribo Life Science have been successively submitted for marketing approval. Abogen’s ABO1108 is the first mRNA vaccine for herpes zoster to enter Phase III clinical trials, positioning it at the forefront globally.